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Archive for 2016

Keeping connected in today’s classroom: Teachers utilizing digital tools to better communicate with parents

Keeping connected in today’s classroom: Teachers utilizing digital tools to better communicate with parents

October 17, 2016 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

I can distinctly remember that yellow piece of paper with six little words, “Please call at your convenience. IMPORTANT.” “Uh oh,” I thought. Written on a pad from the “Desk of Mrs. Hinchey,” my fifth-grade teacher – poor Mrs. H wasted quite a few sheets of her personalized paper trying to get in touch with […]

Screen time for school, work and play is a balancing act

Screen time for school, work and play is a balancing act

October 4, 2016 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

I heard the sirens shortly before 6 p.m. It was as normal a Wednesday evening as you could have as the parent of a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old. I was at my desk in the backroom tinkering with an old HAM radio. The kids were watching a show on Netflix after a busy day during […]

Making friends is hard: Helping your child socially connect

Making friends is hard: Helping your child socially connect

September 19, 2016 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, Middle Years

When my son was in first grade, he would come home from school and tell me he didn’t play with anyone at recess. “What did you do?” I would ask. “Walk around,” he would reply, very quietly. “By yourself? Did you play with anyone?” “No.” “How was the rest of your day?” “Bad.” He looked […]

Mindfulness: Why it’s becoming more prevalent in schools

Mindfulness: Why it’s becoming more prevalent in schools

September 12, 2016 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

Aside from an occasional yoga class, I would have never considered myself the “meditating” type. Type A? Totally. Zen master? Not so much. That was, until I was preparing for the birth of my first child and my doctor suggested mindful meditation as a way to help me be well (see: less of a stressed […]

Easing the transition: How parents can make moving successful

Easing the transition: How parents can make moving successful

September 6, 2016 | Posted in: Elementary, High School, Middle Years

Enrolling at a new school can be a challenging experience for students at all grade levels, as well as for their parents. There are new faces, hallways and classrooms and often divergent approaches to learning from school district to school district. The organization of the school day and classes themselves, especially for students who are […]

Writing opens the door to the future

June 17, 2016 | Posted in: Elementary, Middle Years

Up until third grade, my son fought reading on his own. I kept buying books that I hoped would light a fire inside him, but failed repeatedly. And then one day, it happened. He discovered a book that made him laugh. Its characters were engaging. The story was entertaining, and luckily, it was the first […]

Summer learning: Make it part of your family’s summer routine

Summer learning: Make it part of your family’s summer routine

June 8, 2016 | Posted in: Elementary, High School, Middle Years

“Sometimes I wonder what I’m a-gonna do But there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.”  -Eddie Cochran From the time my kids were little, our family took part in a special tradition and implemented it faithfully each May, until the children got to the age when they were working or simply too busy. I […]

Everyone needs a little push to excel

April 17, 2016 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

Some students need a little something extra to ensure they’re successful at school. Even gifted students need enrichment and accelerated programs to challenge and enable them to make continuous progress. That’s why the Fonda-Fultonville Central School District in Fonda, NY, instituted the Young Scholars program this year in its mission to empower and challenge every […]

Preparedness is key to student safety

April 17, 2016 | Posted in: Elementary, High School, Middle Years

Recently I attended a lockdown drill at an elementary school that houses kindergarten and first grade students. While the principal was explaining what a lockdown is to students and the significance of these types of drills, it struck me that our youngest students live in a world that is very different than it was even […]

Schools identify creative ways to address student conflicts

April 17, 2016 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

When my kids come home from school, they often share stories of arguments and conflicts they saw in the hallways that day. These clashes are nothing new, but the ways some schools are addressing them are. According to the National Bullying Prevention Center: One out of every four students (22%) reports being bullied during the […]